autocad 2015 what is new guide

To return to the Create page, click on Create at the right or bottom of the page.The Learn page provides tools to help you learn AutoCAD 2015.. BIM 360 Ribbon A new BIM 360 Ribbon offers

AutoCAD 2015:

Complete Guide to What’s New

User Interaction 4

New Tab 4

Create 4

Learn 5

Help 6

Color schemes 7

Workspaces 8

Ribbon enhancements 8

Galleries 8

View Ribbon 9

BIM 360 Ribbon 9

Layouts 9

Improved graphics 10

Line smoothing 10

Create and edit enhancements 11

Selection enhancements 12

Command preview 15

Cursor enhancements 17

Model space viewports 19

Layer sort 21

Isometric drafting environment 21

Document 22

Mtext enhancements 22

Auto bullets & numbering 22

Caps Lock 23

Autostack 24

Paragraph tabs 24

Match Properties 25

TABLE of CONTENTS

Text alignment 26

Dimension enhancements 26

Polyline enhancements 27

Geographic location 28

Design 33

Reality capture 33

Display 35

Visualization 36

Cropping 38

Point Cloud Manager 39

Point cloud object snaps 40

3DOrbit 41

Connect 42

Design Feed 42

Autodesk Translation Framework 45

DGN data 45

Customize 45

Autodesk BIM 360 add-in for AutoCAD 45

Configuration 45

Button images 46

Application Manager 47

The Create page is displayed by default and serves as a launchpad where you can access sample files, recent files, templates, product updates, and the online community It’s divided into three columns: Get Started, Recent Documents, and Connect

In the Get Started column you can use the Start Drawing tool to quickly begin a new drawing from a default template

or choose from the list of available drawing templates organized by groups The last template you use becomes the new default Other tools enable you to open existing drawings and sheet sets, get more templates online, and explore sample drawings

In the Recent Documents column you can view and open your recent drawings You can pin them to ensure they remain on the list Icons at the bottom of the column enable you to change how you preview the recent drawings: thumbnail view, thumbnail and text view, or just text view

The third column displays notifications such as hardware acceleration, trial period, and where to download offline help It also enables you to sign into Autodesk® 360 cloud-based service and send feedback directly to Autodesk

Learn

You can slide to the Learn page from the Create page by clicking on Learn at the left or bottom

of the page To return to the Create page, click on Create at the right or bottom of the page.The Learn page provides tools to help you learn AutoCAD 2015 It’s divided into three columns: What’s New, Getting Started Videos, and Tip/Online Resources

Help

The AutoCAD Help system includes a new way to help you locate tools in the AutoCAD user interface (UI) directly from the relevant Help content In the Help window, click the tool you want to use or the Find link next to it An animated arrow points you directly to that tool in the AutoCAD Ribbon

If the tool is not accessible from the current workspace or is located in a hidden tab or panel, a tooltip in the Help window tells you on which Ribbon tab and panel you can find it

Color schemes

AutoCAD 2015 offers a modern, dark-themed interface that includes the Ribbon, status bar, and palettes The new

dark-themed interface combined with the traditional dark model space minimizes the contrast between the drawing space and the surrounding tools to help reduce eye strain

You can easily change between the dark theme and a more traditional light theme using the Color Scheme control on the Display tab of the Options dialog box

Workspaces

The Workspace drop-down list has been turned off in the Quick Access

toolbar You can turn it on or switch workspaces using the control on the

status bar The option for classic workspace has been removed

View Ribbon

Tools on the reorganized View Ribbon tab make it easier to control the visibility of UI elements such as the UCS icon,

ViewCube, Navigation bar, and Layout tabs

BIM 360 Ribbon

A new BIM 360 Ribbon offers easy access to tools for sharing your AutoCAD models and viewing clash results with the project team using Autodesk® BIM 360 TM Glue® online service

Layouts

Layout tabs are enhanced to include a new plus (+) icon for quickly adding new layouts A tooltip displays the layout name

in addition to the preview image when you pass the cursor over a Layout tab An overflow menu provides easy access to layouts when they extend beyond the width of the display

Improved graphics

AutoCAD 2015 offers an improved graphics experience without compromising performance

Line smoothing

The LINESMOOTHING variable enables you to turn on anti-aliasing of drawings in viewports configured with the 2D

wireframe visual style When enabled, 2D objects—such as lines, arcs, circles, and drawings aids like grid lines—look

smoother, especially when drawn at an angle

The appearance of layout sheets has been updated and a new color option, accessible from the Colors button on the Display tab of the Options dialog box, enables you to control the paper background color

Create and edit enhancements

AutoCAD 2015 offers improved visual feedback when creating and editing

objects

During a move operation, the selected objects are displayed in their original

position with a faded deletion effect instead of a dashed selection effect

Complex linetypes display as you draw, move, copy, or rotate them, enabling

you to more easily place them You can control this behavior with the new

COMPLEXLTPREVIEW system variable

You can enable Smooth Line Display in the Graphics Performance dialog box It does not affect plotting

If hardware acceleration is turned on, selecting an object changes its color and it remains thickened to clearly identify it as part of the selection set.

Similar visual enhancements help you clearly identify when faces such as solid hatches are preselected or selected

Similar visual enhancements are included when selecting 3D solids

Selection effects

AutoCAD 2015 offers modern and clear feedback when you preselect and select objects As you pass the cursor over an object in the drawing, the line geometry appears thicker and darker or lighter depending on the background color

Visual Effect Settings

Improved graphics and performance in AutoCAD 2015 reduces the need to individually control line and face highlighting Those controls and associated system variables (PREVIEWEFFECT and PREVIEWFACEEFFECT) have been removed from the Visual Effect Settings dialog box, which is accessible from the Selection tab of the Options dialog box The Advanced Options have been added to the dialog box, eliminating the extra click for accessing the former Advanced Preview Settings dialog

Tolerance object

Double-clicking on a tolerance object opens the Geometric Tolerance dialog box instead of Quick Properties

Command Preview

A new Command Preview control on the Selection tab of the Options dialog box enables you to preview the results of Trim, Extend, Lengthen, Break, and MatchProp operations prior to actually selecting the objects The new Command Preview control also affects preview for Fillet, Chamfer, and Offset operations

The Trim and Extend tools are enhanced in AutoCAD 2015 to

provide a preview of the results before you commit to the

selection After you select the cutting or boundary edges, you

simply pass the cursor over the object you want to trim or

extent A preview of the resulting object is displayed When

trimming, the segment to be removed is dimly displayed and a

cursor badge indicates that it will be deleted

When selecting an object to extend, it is clearly identified and temporarily extended

The Lengthen tool also supports command preview It has been further enhanced in AutoCAD 2015 to default to the last lengthen option (delta, percent, total, dynamic) so you are no longer required to specify an option each time you launch the command

The Break tool displays the results of the Break operation prior to specifying the second break point

After selecting a source object from which to match properties, the MatchProp tool temporarily displays those properties on the destination objects as you pass the cursor over them to select.

Selection badges indicate when you are creating crossing or window selections

Cursor enhancements

The cursor is enhanced in AutoCAD 2015 to provide contextual feedback It

includes badges to reflect the state of many common operations

The crosshairs have been removed from the inside of the pick box to make it

easier to see what you’re picking

An Inspection badge is displayed when using inquiry tools such as Distance, Radius, Angle, Area, Volume, List, and ID

Rotation badges are displayed when specifying the angle of rotation during a Rotate operation

The badge displays a clockwise or counter-clockwise arrow according to the direction specified by the Drawing Units

Relevant badges are displayed for other editing commands including Copy, Move, and Scale

Zoom and Erase/Delete also display relevant badges

Drag the intersection to resize viewports both horizontally and vertically at the same time.

Model space viewports

Model space viewports have been significantly enhanced in AutoCAD 2015 offering more flexibility and greater ease-of-use After creating multiple viewports in model space, a bright blue boundary clearly identifies the active viewport You can easily resize any of the viewports by dragging the horizontal or vertical viewport boundaries

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Layer sort

Layer lists are now displayed using natural ordered sort For example, the layer names 1, 4, 25, 6, 21, 2, 10 are sorted as 1,

2, 4, 6, 10, 21, 25 instead of 1, 10, 2, 25, 21, 4, 6 Natural ordered sort applies to all layer lists including the Hatch Editor Ribbon tab and Quick Select just to name a few You can restore the ASCII sort used in previous releases by changing the new SORTORDER system variable to 0

Isometric drafting environment

A new tool on the status bar provides one-click access to set an isometric drafting environment Turn on isometric drafting

by selecting one of the options from the status bar flyout menu: Isoplane Left, Isoplane Top, Isoplane Right The status bar tool displays colored axes indicating it’s in iso drafting mode Click the icon to quickly turn off iso drafting mode as indicated

by the icon with white axes

Document

Mtext enhancements

The Mtext editor is updated in AutoCAD 2015 offer better

visibility and control The background is now transparent when

hardware acceleration is enabled so you can see drawing

geometry even when the editor opens on top of it

A corner resizer offers more obvious and intuitive resizing of

coumns, enabling you to adjust both the height and width at

the same time If you pass the cursor over the bottom or right

edges of the text editor, you can change either the height or

width individually

Auto bullets & numbering

When you create mtext in AutoCAD 2015, it automatically applies bullets or numbering In the Text Editor Ribbon tab, enable the option to Allow Auto Bullets and Numbering

Caps Lock

When you enter text in the Mtext editor, AutoCAD recognizes if Caps Lock is turned on while you’re also pressing the Shift key When you press Enter or the spacebar after typing the first word, AutoCAD automatically corrects the text and turns off Caps Lock so that you can continue typing without interruption

Then when you begin a line with a symbol or with a number or letter followed by one of these characters and a space or tab, AutoCAD automatically creates a bullet or numbered list: “.”, “)”, “>”, “}”, “,” or “]” An icon indicates that automatic bullets or numbering has started You can click on the icon to access relevant controls including an option to remove bullets

or numbering Pressing backspace immediately after pressing the space or tab also removes automatic bullets and

Paragraph tabs

Tooltips have been added to the tab tool and markers in the Text editor to assist you in creating and editing paragraph tabs

Match Properties

A Match Properties tool has been added to the Text Editor Ribbon tab and toolbar, enabling you to apply properties between selected text within an mtext object It’s available for all objects that use mtext, including dimensions and tables

When you choose Match Properties in the Mtext editor, a paintbrush icon is displayed at the cursor

A new Modify button in the Paragraph dialog box enables you to easily modify the values of existing tabs

AutoCAD 2015 offers more intelligent object snap behavior when

creating dimensions When you place dimensions, existing dimension

extension lines are ignored to prevent them from being inadvertently

snapped to while attempting to pick nearby geometry

You can control object snap behavior for dimension extension lines with a new option on the Drafting tab of the Options dialog box.

When you create continuous or baseline dimensions with the DIMCONTINUEMODE system variable set to 1, AutoCAD

inherits the layer in addition to the dimension style of the dimension that is being continued or used as a baseline

You can press the Ctrl key while creating a polyline arc to draw it in the opposite direction

Polyline enhancements

You can now fillet polyline arc segments

Geographic location

Geographic location functionality is significantly streamlined and enhanced in AutoCAD 2015 You can set the geographic location from a map using the Set Location tool on the Insert Ribbon tab

You must be signed into your Autodesk 360 account to access Online Map Data

If you’re not signed into Autodesk 360 or you choose not to use

Online Map data, you can still use the Geographic Location tool

to enter latitude and longitude for the location A new Use Maps

button is added at the center of the display in case you change your

mind

When using online map data, the Geographic Location tool has

been streamlined to help guide you through the process of

specifying a geographic location The first page of the Geographic

Location tool enables you to specify a location and place a marker

You can specify a location by entering an address or zooming in the

map tile Right-click to drop the maker in the map or click on “Drop

marker here” from the locations listed You can move the marker as

often as needed with no impact on performance

When you’re satisfied with the location, the Next button leads you to the second page where you specify the coordinate system Based on the marker location, AutoCAD 2015 lists only relevant coordinate systems You can use the search field to further filter the relevant coordinate systems selecting the most appropriate one

After picking the corresponding geographic location within the drawing, updated prompts for specifying the north direction are easier to understand and more flexible You can enter an angle, pick a point relative to the geographic location, or pick two new points to define the north direction The same updated prompts make it easier to reorient the marker after it’s been placed

The resolution improves as you zoom in on an aerial map, assuming higher-resolution data is available